Changes for better, Wise says

But some effort needed to find the right balance, he says

TIA MITCHELL

It has been a controversial week for Duval County schools Superintendent Joseph Wise. Teachers criticized the school system for overloading them with paperwork and then he was criticized by School Board members for refusing to delay implementation of a reorganization plan.

Friday, the Times-Union asked Wise about some of the issues raised during the week and his vision for the future.

Below are excerpts of his responses.

What do you say to those who believe all the changes and new programs introduced at the schools this year, which teachers have complained have left them stressed and unable to perform their duties, will have a negative effect on the FCAT?

We have every reason to believe that all of the hard work and all of the changes we've implemented this year will have a positive impact on academic achievement. Not only with FCAT, that's certainly important, but all the other things are important. That said, we've got some work to do to figure out the right balance. Learning schedules, pacing guides are important; there might be some other things that teachers could and should stop doing.

What is one thing you can do right away to ease the pressure on teachers?

Convene teachers to begin looking at things that we can help them stop doing. And Mr. [Ed] Pratt-Dannals, the deputy superintendent, and the school chiefs are already beginning thinking of ways to begin doing. The second thing is to put principals on notice that they have to help be the watchdog for all of this. What's too much, what's not enough by the way of progress monitoring; what's too much, what's not enough in the way of scanning to watch where people are in the pacing guides and learning schedules.

Some who have looked at your reorganization plan say it is confusing, hastily drafted and not well thought out. What do you say about that?

Sort of my off the cuff [response] is that, on what are they basing that? I will tell you that we spent weeks sort of architecting this, thinking about where we were and how to help the board and make good on the board's request to make clusters of schools smaller without adding head count [of district staff]. ... And what we also know about how we want to change our delivery systems in the way we support the schools. This plan makes terrific sense, and it's wonderfully aligned with all of those priorities. Now comes our challenge to help people understand how that fits together.

When you arrived, you said you would be open to suggestions and would focus on consensus building. But now the main criticism about you is that you ignore those who disagree with you. What happened and what can you do to fix this?

If you could follow me around and listen to all the feedback I receive - the criticism, the praise, the ideas, the suggestions - and then if you could watch how many of those suggestions, ideas and of that feedback that I use and actually change course. And if any persons who might be saying that could see that same viewpoint, they wouldn't have that viewpoint.

Have the recent events with the School Board caused you to rethink your management style and approach to the job?

Any leader who isn't always being reflective about his or her style and the way they use their style is being short-sighted. And I also think that any leader who stops growing should stop leading. ... I'm still being very reflective and still being thoughtful about how I flex [his style], but I don't necessarily do it based on what might be popular or what might be comfortable. I try to always do it in terms of what might be most effective for the situation.

Despite the criticisms you are receiving from the public, teachers and the School Board, including three of seven saying they feel you are no longer effective as superintendent, are you committed to fulfilling your contract?

I'm committed to a long-term assignment in Duval County, and I'm committed to Duval County's work beyond the current terms of contract. You don't sign up for this work unless you're committed to the long term. ... Also, you're smart enough to know when your relationship with the School Board becomes an impediment, and I don't think my relationship with the board is an impediment. I happen to think that this board is working very well together, very well with me, and I look forward to continuing on that path.

How will you patch things up with the School Board?

Sort of what my style causes me to do in that kind of situation is to keep dialogue open, find ways to have conversations and look for places where you have viewpoints or things in common. ... The good news about all this is every one of our School Board members shares my belief that kids come first. Teachers are a close second, but kids come first. And so I still think all seven members and I have a great degree of common ground.

Eric Smith, your friend and mentor, is the frontrunner to become the state's education commissioner. Do you think him being appointed to the job would bode well for Duval County?

I have let it be known in Tallahassee that if we really care about kids and we really care about growing Florida's public education system with it becoming the best in the nation, he is the one for the job. ... I think that relationship [with Smith] will be a way for Duval to position itself as being more influential in the state. And I think we can then use that influence.

There is a rumor you may go work for Smith if he gets the commissioner job or fill in the void he leaves at the College Board. Is there any truth to that?

I have not thought about working at the state level, and I have not thought about working at the College Board. So I guess the short answer is there is no truth to that. I think it would be premature for the College Board to make decisions about his replacement and it would be premature for Dr. Smith to think about who is going to be on his team, but neither of those are my business.